Monday

Goodness it's been a while.

Things have been busy, which is good.

Right now I am sitting in the apartment lobby, mooching off the internet. A girl across from me makes phone calls for her company about giving discounts on some alligators that were used in a Dallas performance, and "You've Got Mail" is on the TV. I could watch this movie every single day, unashamedly. Tom Hanks' delivery in this movie is perfect. The whole thing makes me crave fall air, black tights, and, of course, to be somewhere like New York during it all.

Life has been so so good lately, and full. Every weekend seems to rush by. Last weekend Andrew and I went to what might be my favorite place in Augusta, Le Maison. Squished in between a couple of crumbling houses, the Civil War era house stands two stories tall, pink with green shutters, and porch wrapped. Getting a late start, we were the only ones in the grand house. We were shown to the bar since dining was closed, and sat at a small table in the middle of velvet red couches and heavy curtains, where a Zelda, the owner, served us. We ate salmon, ostrich, chili powder chocolate, and drank what might be my favorite red wine of all time (which I can't remember the name of.)

This past weekend I had a girls night with Nicole, AJ's girlfriend, and Kate. We stayed up till 4 am talking about jobs, college life and pets. The next morning they surprised me with coffee and refreshing conversation at work. That night when i was finally off the three of us found ourselves snugged into a wooded corner of Bees Knees, a great restaurant beneath Nicole's apartment. With 5 dollar espresso martinis in hand, we surpassed chatting and got down to serious life stuff, only to be met by the guys a few hours later. Those are by far my favorite sort of nights.

Now, I am in the middle of job hunting and sorting my schedule. This weekend the Hinnenkamp folks are coming in! Next weekend Mom is coming in, woot!! the NEXT weekend Nicole, AJ, Andy and I are off to Destin. And, if I'm lucky enough, a trip to see baby Ambrose may be included in early October. This would mean meeting Hannah in some city and ditching one of our cars (most assuredly mine, since it doesn't have a fully working transmission and all.) We would then drive through the night and make it to Shreveport sometime in the morning, only to drive back Sunday. While this may sound like hell on wheels, it couldn't sound more like heaven. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

And now, my favorite "You've Got Mail" quote,

"You are a lone reed, standing tall, waving boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce."

Now check out what I can't stop listening to. Too CLose, by Alex Clare.

Things found today to remember tomorrow

Source: sometime-samurai.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: themanyadventuresofsarah.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: piccsy.com via Collette on Pinterest

Source: acertainsortof.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Dusk

Dusk is by far my favorite part of the day, even the word itself is magical. Dusk spent in the outdoors does to the body what the first day of fall does; the rejuvenating crispness of it all makes one excitable and perhaps, with the right occasion, a little delirious.

Source: weheartit.com via Laura on Pinterest

Today has been the most wonderful gift of laziness. After a two hour work meeting on how to clock in and out on the new system, I made my way downtown to AJ and Nicole's place. Their apartment is a historical building off 10th street that is a bundle of dark old wood and exposed, worn brick. I spent the afternoon there listening to music and drawing while lounging around with Nicole and Walter, her Yorkie that is impossible not to love. (Walter fact: he likes to stand in front of the fan and let his long hair blow around his face like a supermodel.)

And now, I find myself sitting outside a Starbucks with Andy, each of us on our computers, him working and me diddling. Florence is playing over the speakers, my feet are propped up and there's a light breeze. Dusk wraps up the day with a giant orange and pink bow.

Happy Sunday everyone. Happy, happy Sunday.

Life in Augusta

First, random thoughts:

When I asked for a rice crispy treat at Starbucks, and she brought it to me with an accompanying fork, I'll admit I was a little disappointed.

I have discovered lately that some of the hardest people for me to be Christian people are not those I envy, disagree with, or judge; but those who make me nervous. Working on that now.

Yesterday I met an old Hispanic lady named Elba, named after the island that Napoleon was exiled to (the first time, until he escaped. YAR!). She taught me about Russian girls who specialize in identity theft and I sold her a LeVian ring.

The Starbucks baristas are collectively saying everything in the most obnoxious Wiscannsan accent they can, and it's making me happy :)

Spell check refuses to recognize Starbucks as a real word, which I like.

The rest, life here lately:

A while back I was sitting in my apartment and desperately in need of some groceries. I hopped in Will Shat and began following my GPS. As it led me out the back way, which I had never taken, things began to change. As I hit Dean's Bridge Rd, every building began to get a bit more crumbly, and the number of bars on the windows grew and grew. Not to mention that it was the middle of the day on a Wednesday and no one seemed to be at work. That Walmart trip was horrifying. Between the "Can I holla atchoo guh?" and the man who kept kissing at his children whenever yelling wouldn't work, I was ready to get the heck out of there.

With a little help from Andrew, I've discovered that my apartment complex sits right in front of what is one of the worst gang spots in Augusta. Awesome. Don't get me wrong, scrappy as I am, my doors don't lock right and there sure is a lot of foot traffic going in and out of my complex. Thus, a move is probably in order. Downtown has beautiful old apartments with more square footage and less rent per month. However, it is most likely dangerous as well.

There seems to be a gap in Augusta. When I shared this with an apartment complex employee, she confirmed. It seems you have two options in Augusta, you can either pay 650 and below for rent, but it will never be in a relatively safe place. Or you can pay 800 and above to live in an extremely nice gated community. It seems there is no middle ground. If this is the case, give me the old-timey flat over a downtown cafe.

Today, we are leaving for Charlotte, NC. I've never been but everyone keeps saying how beautiful it is. We are going with our new friends, Daniel (who, when speaking to little boys, refers to them as sir), AJ (who high fives the homeless), and Nicole (who wears rain boots to the dance club when it storms). I'm officially excited. My super nice manager, Ryan, worked with me until we found a way to get my Saturday shift picked up. And, best of all, I have a weekend off for the first time since I've started! I can't wait to sleep in on Saturday, get to spend a day with Andrew plus friends, and even go to church on Sunday, where I plan to hunt down a women's bible study. (To join them, if that was violently misleading.)

More to come, but for now I have to call my power company and do other grown-upy things. I really just want to sit in the plush orange chair and read East of Eden. Can't win em all I suppose.

Confession

I sometimes give dirty looks to children who are being especially naughty.

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Anneke on Pinterest